Owned by the (La Perla) Sandri family, the Wijnhuis on Stellenbosch’s popular Church Street (and linked to the SMAC art gallery) has followed on their success at the Wijnhuis in Newlands. The emphasis is on the wine, with a selection of 350 wines by the glass that should satisfy just about anyone.
Surrounded by crates and bottles of wine, the cosy wooden interior certainly gets one in the mood. Their special menu for the Spring Art Route is sensational good value at R120 per person, which includes a glass of chardonnay or merlot. The starter is a choice between a marinated venison carpaccio with roast red pepper pesto, coriander and garlic chips and a home-made sweet potato ravioli (delicate and half-moon shaped) in a saffron butter. For rhe main course there is a choice between slow roasted Namibian lamb or a Cape line-fish in a banana and fresh mussel velouté.
Pudding is malva. Try it with some of their newly produced Grappino Moscato d’Allesandria from their Wellington farm.